English Past Year Paper with Solutions - Delhi Set 1 (2019) | Past Year Papers for Class 10 PDF Download

Ques 1: Read the following passage carefully.

1. Few guessed that this quiet, parentless girl growing up in New York City would one day become the First Lady of the United States. Even fewer thought she would become an author and lecturer and a woman much admired and loved by people throughout the world.

2. Born Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in 1884 to wealthy, but troubled parents who both died while she was young, Roosevelt was cared for by her grandmother and sent to school in England. In 1905, she married her distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She and her husband had six children. Although they were wealthy, her life was not easy and she suffered several personal tragedies. Her second son died when he was a baby. In 1921, her strong athletic husband was stricken with polio, which left him physically disabled for life.

3. Eleanor Roosevelt was a remarkable woman who had great intelligence and tremendous strength of character. She never let things get her down. She nursed her husband back to good health and encouraged him to remain in politics. She then helped him to become Governor of New York, and in 1933, President of the United States.

4. While her husband was President, she took a great interest in all the affairs of the country. She became her husband's legs and eyes; she visited prisons and hospitals; she went down into mines, up scaffolding and into factories. Roosevelt was tireless and daring. During the depression she travelled all over the country bringing goodwill, reassurance and help to people without food and jobs. During World War II she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world. The United States had never known a First Lady like her.

5. Roosevelt also kept in touch with the American people through a daily newspaper column called 'My Day'. She broadcast on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First Lady.

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer the following questions: (any eight)
(a) How was Eleanor Roosevelt's personality in contrast to what she became?
(b) Apart from being the First Lady what else did she have to her credit?
(c) What challenges did she face in her personal life but remained unfazed?
(d) Eleanor was a strong woman who helped her husband become the President of America. How?
(e) What does the statement: 'she became her husband's legs and eyes' mean?
(f) What was her special contribution during the depression?
(g) How did she motivate soldiers during World War II?
(h) What did she do for the first time for a First Lady?
(i) What side of her personality is reflected in this passage?
Ans: 1.1
(a) Eleanor Roosevelt was a quiet and parentless girl who grew up to be The First Lady of the United States, an author and lecturer who was much admired and loved by people throughout the world.
(b) Apart from being The First Lady of the United States, she was also an author and lecturer who was much admired and loved by people throughout the world.
(c) She was born to wealthy but troubled parents who both died while she was young. Her second son died when he was a baby and her athletic husband was stricken with polio, which left him physically disabled for life. However, despite all this, she remained unfazed.
(d) Eleanor nursed her husband back to good health and encouraged him to remain in politics. She then helped him to become Governor of New York, and in 1933, President of the United States.
(e) ‘She became her husband’s eyes and legs’ means that she visited the prisons and hospitals, went down into mines, up scaffoldings and into factories on behalf of her husband and saw everything herself.
(f) During the depression she travelled all over the country bringing goodwill, reassurance and help to people without food and jobs.
(g) During World War II she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world to motivate them.
(h) She kept in touch with American people through a daily newspaper column called ‘My Day’. She broadcast on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First Lady.
(i) This passage tells us that she was a strong headed and benevolent woman.

Ques 2: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow.
1. Overpowering prey is a challenge for creatures that do not have limbs. Some species like Russell's viper inject poison. Some others opt for an alternative non-chemical method – rat snakes, for instance, catch and push their prey against the ground, while pythons use their muscle power to crush their prey to death. But snakes can't be neatly divided into poisonous and non-poisonous categories.

2. Even species listed as non-poisonous aren't completely free of poison. The common Sand Boa, for instance, produces secretions particularly poisonous to birds. So the species doesn't take any chance – it crushes its prey) and injects poison as an extra step.

3. Do vipers need poison powerful enough to kill hundreds of rats with just one drop? After all, they eat only one or two at a time.

4. While hunting animals try their worst to kill most efficiently, their prey use any trick to avoid becoming a meal, such as developing immunity to poison.) For instance, Californian ground squirrels are resistant to Northern Pacific rattlesnake poison.

5. Competition with prey is not the only thing driving snakes to evolve more and more deadly poison. Snakes also struggle to avoid becoming prey themselves.

6. Some snake killers have partial immunity to poison. Famously, mongooses are highly resistant to cobra poison, and with their speed and agility, kill snakes fearlessly. It would be the death of cobras as a species if they didn't evolve a more deadly poison to stop mongooses.

7.  Poison has another important role. It's an extreme meat softener, specific enzymes break up the insides of the  prey. Normally, a reptile depends on the sun's warm rays to aid digestion.

8. But I wonder if we cannot use venom in our favour. In remote parts of India, local hospitality often involves leather tough meat. I chew and chew until my jaws ache. If I spit it out or refuse, our hosts would be offended, I swallow like a python stuffing a deer down its throat and hope I don't choke. If only I had poison.

2.1 Read the questions given below and answer any four in 30-40 words each.
(a) Russell viper and rat snake have different methods to attack prey. How?
(b) How does Sand Boa kill its prey?
(c) There is a constant tussle between the hunting animal and its prey? Why?
(d) What makes mongoose a snake predator?
(e) What difficulty does the writer face when he is entertained in the remote parts of India?

2.2 On the basis of your reading of the above passage fill in any two of the following blanks.
i. Overpowering __________ is a challenge for creatures that do not have limbs.
A. A killer
B. Humans
C. A python
D. Prey

ii. Poison  ____________ meat.
A. Enhances taste of
B. Hardens
C. Softens
D. Breaks down

iii. Californian squirrels are  ______________  rattlesnake poison.
A. Afraid of
B. Helpless against
C. Resistant to
D. Indifferent to

2.3 Find words from the passage which mean the same as: (any two)
A. Another (para 1)
B. Liquid substances released from glands (para 2)
C. Particular (para 7)
Ans: 2.1
(a) While Russell’s viper inject poison, the rat snakes catch and push their prey against the ground.
(b) The Sand Boa produces secretions particularly poisonous to birds. It does not take any chances and first crushes its prey and then injects poison as an extra step.
(c) While hunting animals try their worst to kill most efficiently, their prey use any trick to avoid becoming a meal, such as developing immunity to poison. Competition with prey is not the only thing driving snakes to evolve more and more deadly poison. Snakes also struggle to avoid becoming prey themselves.
(d) Mongooses are highly resistant to cobra poison, and with their speed and agility, kill snakes fearlessly.
(e) When the writer is entertained in the remote parts of India, local hospitality often involves leather-tough meat. The writer chews it until his jaw aches. If he spits it out or refuse, their hosts would be offended and if he swallows, it would be like python stuffing a deer down its throat and hope that it doesn’t choke. Thus, he regrets not having a venom which he could use to soften the meat.

Ans: 2.2
(i) (d) prey
(ii) (c) softens
(iii) (c) resistant to

Ans: 2.3
(a) alternative
(b) secretions
(c) specific

Ques 3: You are Tanvi/Shirish of Safdarjung development Area, New Delhi. You are extremely disturbed about the attacks on old people living alone. Write a letter in 100-120 words to the Editor, 'The New Indian News' making people sensitive to the problem. Make suggestions to the people living alone and the authorities to ensure that such attacks do not take place.

OR
You are Ravi / Raveena, Sports Secretary of your school. Write an article in 100-120 words on the topic, 'Importance of Outdoor Games in the life of a teenager.'
Ans: 
Safdarjung Development Area,
New Delhi-110022
14 January, 2019
The Editor
The New Indian News
New Delhi-110012

Sir/ Madam

Subject: Security of old people living alone

Through the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to bring to public’s notice the unsafe environment in which our elderly population struggles daily.
It has been seen that the incidents of molestation and rape against elderly women have risen in the past few years. The elderly are often killed, robbers making away with their goods and money after hacking them to death. Special steps need to be taken to protect our elderly who live alone and do not have company at home specially during the day hours. Police vans need to be on constant rounds, citizen squads can be formed, elderly need to be checked on regularly. Above all, we need to learn true respect for the old people.

I hope that the police force will take appropriate actions to curtail the problem.
Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours truly,
Tanvi

OR

Importance of Outdoor Games in the Life of a Teenager

Games and sports are an important part of life, especially outdoor games. It stimulates physical and mental growth of a person. There is a well-known saying- "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Outdoor games are a form of physical activity that strengthens muscles and makes keeps teenagers agile. Outdoor games are required for an over-all development of teenagers. They inculcate team spirit and a responsible behaviour in individuals. Studies and games should be given an equal value. Nowadays, outdoor games are not played much but they are extremely essential for teenagers to understand the way of life and learn other moral lessons.

Ques 4: Write a story in 150-200 words with the help of the following outline. Give it a suitable title also.
Bunya was a foolish boy, who was an attention seeker. He was a woodcutter and would go deep into the jungle to cut trees. One day he wanted to do an act of mischief. He shouted at the top of his voice, "There's a tiger, tiger, there's a tiger... ..."

OR

On Sunday I was watching TV. Suddenly I heard people shouting outside...
Ans:

Liar Bunya

Bunya was a foolish boy, who was an attention seeker. He was a woodcutter and would go deep into the jungle to cut trees. One day he wanted to do an act of mischief. He shouted at the top of his voice, “There’s a tiger, tiger, there’s a tiger…”. Hearing this all the people in the jungle left their work and gathered near him. But there was no tiger and Bunya burst into laughter after seeing all the people so bewildered. People became mad at him and scolded him for raising false alarm. A few days later, Bunya repeated the same and everybody rushed to his rescue only to find him laughing at them again.

Everybody warned him to mind his ways or he would land in trouble someday. However, he repeated the same but nobody came to help him. Everybody thought that he was raising a false alarm once again but this time, he was actually in trouble. He kept shouting for help and after his voice stopped echoing, the villagers gathered to see what had happened. A tiger had actually come there and Bunya had fainted in front of it. The villagers quickly lit a few sticks and frightened the tiger away to save Bunya.

OR

An Evening to Remember

On Sunday I was watching TV. I heard people shouting outside and ran outdoors to check what was wrong. There was a saucer-shaped aircraft hovering over the colony park. We were left speechless as we saw aliens stepping out of the UFO after it landed! People were petrified and started running away into the safety of their homes. But I was too fascinated to move. The aliens walked up to me and, to my surprise, addressed me in my own language! I greeted the alien and asked his name and where he had come from. He said that they had come from our neighbouring galaxy ‘Silky Way’. I was extremely excited to know more about them and invited them to my house. As soon as they entered my house, they were mesmerised by the lights, furniture and appliances. They had never seen anything like that before. I asked them if they would like to have anything and they replied that they only fed on liquid nitrogen. I asked them a lot of things about their planet and galaxy and also told them about our planet Earth. They were very comfortable and told me that they would like to visit again if given a chance.

Ques 5: Fill in any four of the following blanks choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below. Write the answers in your answer-sheet against the correct blank numbers.
Delhi (a) _____________ the capital of India. People from all parts (b) ____________ the country and world come to visit Delhi. There (c) ___________ many historical buildings here. Last year I, (d) __________ Delhi. I also watched (e) _____________ Commonwealth Games 2010.

Ans: 
(a) (ii) is
(b) (i) of
(c) (ii) are
(d) (iii) visited
(e) (iii) the

Ques 6: The following paragraph has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the error along with its correction in the space provided. Do any four.

Ans: 

Ques 7: Rearrange any four of the word / phrases to make meaningful sentences.
1. that life began / centuries ago / scientists think / twenty million / on earth / about
2. endless process / the plants and animals / of evolution / are the products / of an
3. are / their animals / products of / all the / environment
4. lose / habitat / human / due to / their / the animals / encroachment
5. the / habitat / regrowth / rate of / is / very slow / of
Ans: (1) Scientists think that life began on Earth about twenty million centuries ago.
(2) The plants and animals are the products of an endless process of evolution.
(3) All the animals are products of their environment.
(4) The animals lose their habitat due to human encroachment.
(5) The rate of regrowth of habitat is very slow.

Ques 8: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes, and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the Consulate-General we found that my friend's mail had arrived but that mine had not.
Questions:
(a) What was 'they'?
(b) Where could the author get 'one'?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means 'domesticated.'
(d) What did the author find at the Consulate-General?

Or

(There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me- a mermaid drifting blissfully.)
Questions:
(a) Who does 'me' stand for?
(b) How does 'me' feel?
(c) Who is 'me' compared to?
(d) Which word in the extract means opposite of 'sorrowfully'?

Ans: (a) ‘They’ refers to Camusfearna.
(b) The author could better get one in the Tigris marshes.
(c) The other word for domesticated is tamed.
(d) At the Consulate-General they found that the author’s friend’s mail had arrived but his hadn’t.

OR

(a) ‘me’ stands for Amanda.
(b) ‘me’ feels that she is a mermaid and the only inhabitant of languid, emerald sea, who drifts blissfully.
(c) ‘me’ has been compared to a mermaid.
(d) Blissfully means the opposite of sorrowfully.

Ques 9: Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each:
i. How did Kisa Gotami realise that life and death is a normal process?
ii. Why did Maddie write a note to Peggy and then tore it?
iii. How can you say that Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest?
iv. What difficulty do the crew of the space probe face on the Earth?
v. What was the most fascinating thing that Valli saw on the street? 
Ans: (i) Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all and that she was being selfish in her grief. She understood this only the second time because it was then that she found that there was not a single house where some beloved had not died. First time round, she was only thinking about her grief and was therefore asking for a medicine that would cure her son. When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. He did this purposely to make her realize that there was not a single house where no beloved had died, and that death is natural. When she went to all the houses the second time, she felt dejected that she could not gather the mustard seeds. Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realized that the fate of men is such that they live and die. Death is common to all. This was what the Buddha had intended her to understand.
(ii) Maddie wanted Peggy to stop making fun of Wanda hence, she wrote a note to her but then she thought that the note would annoy Peggy and she would start teasing her instead and thus, she tore the note.
(iii) Horace Danby was considered a kind and honest man, but he was not entirely honest. Fifteen years ago, he had been imprisoned for stealing rare books. He was not a typical thief; he stole only once a year. And he stole to fulfil his desire to acquire rare books. He did not steal again and again, he wasn’t a repeat offender. He stole only to buy rare books.
(iv) The crew of the space probe landed in a public library. It was a strange place for them as the crew had no idea about books. They thought it to be a storage barn.
(v) The bus service running between her village and the nearest town was the most fascinating thing for Valli. The bus which passed the street every hour had a new set of passengers in it and watching them gave her immense joy.

Ques 10: Attempt the following questions in 100-120 words:
Bholi is a child different from others. This difference makes her an object of neglect and laughter. Elaborate.

Or

The poet in the poem, 'For Anne Gregory' conveys that we should give importance to the inner beauty and not to the physical appearance . Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Ans: Bholi’s real name was Sulekha but she was called Bholi, the simpleton as she was a backward child. She was the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal who had seven children. Bholi remained a backward child due to an injury in her head when she was ten months old. She was fair and pretty at birth but when she was two years old, she had an attack of small-pox which left deep black marks all over her body. She started speaking only when she turned five but she stammered when she spoke and as a result she was always mimicked or made fun of by the other children. Therefore, Bholi talked very little. Unlike Ramlal’s other children, she was not healthy and strong. She was frightened at first when her father wanted to take her to school. But when she was bathed and given new clothes to wear, she began to believe that she was being taken to a place better than her home. Bholi did not know what exactly a school was and what happened there, but when she saw girls like her present there, she was glad. She hoped that one of those girls would become her friend. In the class when her teacher asked her name, she tried to say but the girls started laughing when she stammered. She cried and kept her head down throughout the class.

OR

The poem talks about the poet and his beloved Anne. The lady has yellow hair and she wants to dye them in order to impress her lover because she believes that he likes it that way. She wants to look good and beautiful in her lover's eye. However, after a point in time she understands that it is only God who can love her unconditionally and that she must not worry about the poet’s love. She realises that it is the inner beauty that matters and not the physical appearance and she need not change her outer self for someone.

Ques 11: Answer the following question in 200-250 words:
How did Kitty help Anne overcome her loneliness?

Or

What is the main theme of 'The Diary of a Young Girl'?

Or

"The best and most beautiful things in the world can't be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Justify the famous quote of Helen Keller.

Or

Helen had a great love for animals and birds. Write about this aspect of her character.
Ans: Isolation and loneliness are all pervasive in the lives of the annex members, especially the young adults like Anne, Peter and Margot for whom it characterized their formative years. The loneliness of human existence, the solitary struggle of every individual to live from day to day and acute alienation felt by them was doubled for them by the vendetta against them on the grounds of ethnicity. Anne’s overpowering loneliness makes her realize that one could be lonely even when surrounded by the people they loved. She felt distanced from the rest of her family and unable to communicate even though they were supportive and caring. She developed an intense and compelling need for solitary existence which stemmed from the fact that being in company brought on a paradoxical loneliness.
This sense of alienation manifested itself because people were too caught up in their own troubles to be responsive towards others. Peter was a departure from that acute loneliness she suffered, his company was conducive to her temperament and they both ended up confiding in each other. Her diary, Kitty, was a like a friend to her, one to whom she could unburden the most intimate thoughts of her heart without being censured. The writings are in the mode of frank and intimate conversations with a dear friend. The diary was like Anne's secret confidante with whom she not only shared the daily occurrences of her life but also her innermost thoughts and feelings.

OR

The horror of the war is indeed one of the major themes of the 'Diary of a Young Girl'. The diary is written with World War II at the backdrop. Due to the war, families like Franks and Van Daans have to suffer. At least they have been fortunate enough to make plans for hiding, there are other Jews that have been less fortunate. they have been terminated by the nazis or sent to concentration camps. Food, shelter and clothing are tough to come by. Everybody lives in constant fear and danger: The Franks and Van Daans are perpetually scared of getting caught, the non-Jews too suffer due to shortage of food and other amenities. The adults discuss their prospects after the war and Anne's diary documents every battle and landing during the Allies' progress against the Germans.  

OR

Love, knowledge, affection, loyalty, happiness, these are the things which are not tangible and elude our visual or tactile sense. But as Helen observes, the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller could not see or hear but her achievements belie her physical limitations. Her intellectual capabilities and aesthetic sensibilities could not be constrained by her physical disadvantages, her thirst for knowledge was unquenchable and her love of life, human or natural, boundless. It is interesting and inspiring to read the story of her life because she triumphed against all adversities, overcoming them with grace and learning from her mistakes. Nothing could stop her from charting the course of her life and it is a lesson for us in overcoming our obstacles.

OR

Helen was very close to nature. Helen loved nature, and for her it was her favourite companion, as it gave her solace. Even as a child, she learnt most from nature and it was this love and understanding of the beauty of nature that Miss Sullivan utilised to educate her. There are instances when Helen describes how Miss Sullivan used to take her for walks wherein she used to teach her geography and other things using nature as a medium.
Most of the most vivid memories of her childhood were related to nature, for example being stuck in the storm, realising what words meant when she associated water, experiencing snow for the first time etc. Hence it is safe to say that Helen shared a deep bond with nature.
Helen's great love for animals is evident in her affinity towards books such as "The Jungle Book" and "Wild Animals I Have Known" where she felt a genuine interest in the animals themselves because they were real and not caricatures of men. On another note, as a deaf and blind child, Helen understood the beauty of mute creatures like birds and animals who might not have been able to speak but had a voice of their own. She enjoyed spending her time in their company or even reading about them.